Early Doors

Stupid Mario bother

"He can become as good as he wants. Everything is in place except the self-discipline. He is a skilful player, a strong player; he just needs to learn the self-discipline that is so important in achieving results."

Liverpool and Rangers both also crashed out of Europe's secondary cup competition at the last-16 stage on Thursday night, with the Reds' hopes of continental football next season all but gone and the people of Dublin breathing a sigh of relief that the Gers' blue army won't be descending upon the Irish capital en masse.

Dynamo proved their worth, no doubt about that, and their first-leg win showed that the Donbass Arena is not the only stadium in Ukraine that continental opponents dread visiting. However, the City board will have expected much more from the nigh-on £250 million-worth of talent fidgeting around Eastlands last night.

Mancini is unlikely to let Balotelli off the leash at Stamford Bridge ("I don't think he will be in the squad"), meaning that the volatile Italian has not only cost City a shot at a trophy, but also limits his side's options in a match vital towards achieving their main goal for the campaign.

Still, not all of the blame can be laid at Balotelli's feet. If City are to make it past local rivals Manchester United in their upcoming FA Cup semi-final then all involved need to rediscover their ambition, because it is a commodity currently in short supply.

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With all three British clubs out of the Europa League, Thursday nights are free again. Early Doors for one is grateful that the obligation for watching the games has been lifted, freeing up time to increase its viewing pleasure with such gems as Relocation, Relocation and Monroe, the medical drama which is in no way a clone of House, no sir, not at all.

It also allows us all to fully concentrate our energy on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, which will soon be delivering unto us the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Premier League clubs Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham will all be in the hat when the draw is made in Nyon at 11am today.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's very flattering but I'm quite happy doing what I'm doing at the moment. Sometimes, when a job becomes vacant then people look around to see whether there are any connections in terms of past playing careers or whatever. I think there's no more in it than that." - Fulham manager Mark Hughes correctly accuses the media of adding two plus two and getting five by linking him to the vacancy at former club Bayern Munich. Seeing as the job has all but gone to Bayer Leverkusen boss Jupp Heynckes anyway, it was always going to be a non-starter. But then, when did that ever stop anyone?

COMING UP: Team news, match facts and video previews for all the weekend's Premier League fixtures are coming up, plus team news for all of the other major leagues. Paul Parker and Jim White will be giving their latest views on the issues that matter, while The Fantasist will be hosting the latest webchat on all things Yahoo! Fantasy Football.